M&S reminds the world who the real saviour of Christmas is

Christmas ads are all part of the festivities as the holidays creep up. And most of the hype is usually centred around supermarkets, or brands like John Lewis (see the success of ‘Man on the moon’ in 2015). But this year, the M&S christmas ad — featuring unlikely starlette Mrs Claus — is winning over women across the UK.

‘With love from Mrs Claus’ has picked up over six million views on Youtube in just a week. The ad documents Mrs Claus attentively preparing and sending her husband off to deliver Christmas presents — but she herself is the real heroine of Christmas. Dressed in a glamorous red dress and equipped with a bad ass attitude, Mrs Claus hops on her snowmobile and drives into an icy version of the Batcave, where she boards a sleek red helicopter called R-Dolf. She is on a mission to deliver a gift that’ll save Christmas for one special child. And by the time Santa returns home, she’s already asleep on the sofa. When he asks her how her day was, she modestly replies; ”You know, quiet.”

The spot comes at a time when the dialogue around women’s rights is at its loudest. While the Hillary 2016 campaign made American history, celebrities like Emma Watson and Beyoncé have become bona fide representatives of the mainstream feminist movement. And, of course, brands are getting on board. Netflix has been shaming the television industry for its poor representation of women, and media offerings like Lenny and WhoHaha are giving women a platform to celebrate each other for everything from their hilarity to their intellect. Now, M&S is stepping up to show its solidarity, too.

Mrs Claus is the everywoman. With 61% of all presents and 54% of all food shopping at Christmas done by women in the UK, M&S knows exactly who its campaign should be addressing. “Mrs Claus is an epitome of the huge efforts that our customers put to make their Christmas day special,” says Patrick Bousquet-Chavanne, executive director of marketing for M&S. “It represents the love and togetherness that people want to feel and see in abundance on this special day.” Because while gender roles may continue to blur, for now, in the UK, mothers remain the true saviours of Christmas.

Discover more insights like this by signing up to the Canvas8 Library.

Aleksandr Oniscenko is a writer and researcher with a particular appetite for media and communications.